When it issue forth to those mysterious Cuban attacks , most are reporting on the fact that American doctor have foundbrain abnormalities – damage to the bloodless tissue tracts – within several of the victim . That ’s a perfectly understandable focus to have , but what can not be ignored is the sum-up of a panel of Cuban expert , which points to a very different conclusion .
As first see byScience , Cuban scientist recently declared that the noises that people are hearing during these attack is likely to be the sound of cricket chirping . As for the audience loss , freak out , nausea , and other symptoms , they suspect that the 24 American diplomats – and some Canadian envoys – are suffer from a “ collective psychogenetic disorder ” , which in this case mean the sudden , near - coinciding appearance of forcible illnesses stemming from mental focus .
enquiry hasdemonstratedthat psychogenetic diseases , those cited by Cuban officials , are believably linked to pre - existing unnatural brain activeness . If so , the sudden appearance of so many case in one location strike us as fairly improbable . What are the odds that so many diplomats at the same time experienced the onset of such an nonfigurative disease ? Saying that , aggregate hysteria ismore commonthan people believe .
The current consensus is that the diagnosing of a psychogenic disease pass when the clinical practitionerisn’t able to identifya specific cause . This suggests that , much like the American investigator work on the same problem , the Cuban panel are n’t sure what ’s causing the symptom – although it must be say that they are avoiding attributing them to any " transonic attacks " .
As aforementioned , it ’s since been announced by American experts that white matter tract changes in some victims is detectable – the type that could cause these symptoms to evidence . Even if it was a “ corporate psychogenic disorderliness ” , it ’s undecipherable whether or not this can explain the incidence of these brain irregularity .
As for the crickets – where do we start ?
The idea appears to have been base on a transcription that is currently being analyse by the US Navy ’s cutting - edge acoustic detection and processing computer hardware . It ’s been reported that the sign is made up of at least20 different frequencies , which suggest a individual species of critter is n’t gain them .
The Cuban venire has assess the very same audio frequency recording , and has determine that cricket , and possiblecicadas , are responsible for the noise .
Let ’s take a expression at the detail of the attacks , which have been happeningas late as August . They occur in a ambit of locations – unremarkably state - owned buildings , which includes residence foreign minister plenipotentiary know in – and time of day . Some of them let in high up - pitched interference , some do n’t , and for the most part , mass sleeping or stand right next to the dupe do n’t see a affair .
Although the “ transonic arm ” hypotheses are beginning to look a little wobbly as of previous , entrap crickets as a potential antagonist is n’t exactly a solid idea either . Nothing adequately explicate all of the symptom .
So far , Cuban expert have n’t linked the racket to brain damage , which there ’s no solid grounds for whatsoever . Still , they have suggest that the insects could be noisy enough to induce audition deprivation , irritation , and roue pressure level spikes , perQuartz . It ’s not clear how probable this is either .
disregarding , the mind that all these diplomat , all of which are geographically and temporally segregated , are fall dupe to these funny symptoms at the very same clip that crickets are purloin up on them and chirping in their auricle – and onlytheirears – seems a little , well , off .
Stanley Fahn , the H. Houston Merritt Professor of Neurology at Columbia University , has seen the Cuban story ’s summary – but not the details of it . He told IFLScience that “ it would seem unusual that cricket sounds could cause brain damage to humans , let alone other animal specie . ”
Although Fahn still suspects that stress is a potential cause , he ’s “ curious to see the genuine report of the MRI change in the psyche , and if they are consistent in all the afflict individual , and how they take issue for non - afflicted individuals . ”
For what it ’s worth , the US body politic department has yet to aim the incrimination explicitly on Cuban authorities , and psychogenic illnesses are n’t alone link up to unelaborated - sounding possibility . Stress is know to do some odd things to the brain , and there ’s a tidy sum we do n’t yet empathize . Some US scientists have expressedsimilar psychosomatic conclusionsbased on media reports . Saying that , a hefty dose of skepticism is all important here .
